俗世奇人
2009-10
外文出版社
刘涛 编
444
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Readers from all over the world, who areused to learning about China through foreignnewspapers, TV and the Internet, may nowopen up these books to see China through theheartfelt thoughts and writings of Chinesepeople themselves. The many authors ofthese new short stories, living in this rapidlydeveloping and changing, yet ancient nation,have strived to describe all that is happeningin and around themselves to give genuinedynamic expression to the intricate recentexperiences of the Chinese people. Throughthe power of their words you will be ableto catch glimpses of the real, complex andliving China, as well as other possibilities forall humanity, including yourself.
Liu Tao, who was born in 1982 in Jiaozhou.Shandong Province, is currently completinghis doctorate in the Chinese Department.Fudan University, with his research interests intwentieth-century Chinese literature and Westernaesthetics. His writings have been published inAcademic Monthly SoutheiJt Cultural Forum, andModern Literarv Maeazine.
Wang Meng 21st Century Chinese Literature—Points of DepartureLiu Tao Wonders and Wizards in the World of Our Everyday Streets.HuangJianbua Three Fiddle TalesAb Cbeng River LanternsCbi Zijian Bathing in Fresh WaterWang Anyi Wedding BanquetFengJicai Street WizardsDeng Youmei Old Stories from a Narrow AlleyWu Xuan Mystique in WhiteTian Dongzbao River HarvestLiu Qingbang Deft HandsZbeng Decben Village FeastsNie Xinsen Third Uncle Feng—The Master Fan MenderGuo Wenbin Good Luck and Best WishesTan Ge The PorcelainistLi Zbibang PapercuttingEditor's Recommended Reading （in Chinese）
When becoming a part, or the background or foreground, offiction, folklore will certainly change the style and features of shortstories. But modern folklore is not necessarily all wonderful or freefrom the quest for novelty. It depends on the authors skill to turnfolk customs into an opportunity or a burden. The short storymight be a delightful work if the writer is able to make good use ofthe artistic opportunity. Otherwise, the story will definitely fail un-der trying to carry the weight of folk traditions. If the authors are unaware of the old sense of folk customsand its possible connections with the new contracted sense, thentheir fiction may still remain unrefined and unfocused. Becausefolk customs in the new contracted sense, upon losing the originalbasis in the minutiae of everyday life, will tend to become objectsfor novelty quests in fiction. In such stories, the real substance andhistorical accrual of folkways are abandoned, so that folk customsmerely serve as symbolic signs and superficial decoration. I came across quite a few such stories when I was selecting fiction for this collection. Many reviews and studies on literary folklore also stay trapped at this level.
The fourteen short stories collected in this book are arranged by timesequence of publication. It is intended to demonstrate that fiction can remainserious, without falling into the quest for novelty, and draw readers attentionback to ordinary life to witness all the wonders in our everyday world. Realwonders exist nowhere but in the lives of ordinary people. Zhuang Zi, aninfluential Taoist philosopher in ancient China, advocated staying in the"Realm of Human Interaction," instead of standing aloof from human affairs. ——Liu Tao In their quest for the roots of modern society, these Chinese writers haveensured we never forget - memories, identities, ancient folkways andtraditions. —— Li Jingze The main characters in the fourteen stories are but ordinary folks we mightencounter every day. Yet the extraordinary qualities hidden in their frailframes exhibit every facet of Chinas brilliant traditional culture and customs.Their fascinating stories are truly living museums of folk culture and customsalready vanished or soon to vanish. ——Pan Kaixiong
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非常好的一本书，文笔简洁流畅，故事发人深思，非常喜欢